20. Chapter 20
twenty
Sadie
This week had passed in a blur of passive-aggressive specials and a few visits from Parker, one of which included flowers.
He was sweet. Kind. Easy on the eyes.
But I still didn’t feel the flutter.
I was going to have to let him down.
The week also came with daily visits from Amy.
Each morning, without fail. Six specials. Six perfectly timed reasons to make the next one even snarkier than the last.
Tuesday was “Bakes for Nothing”—a flaky apple turnover with absolutely nothing inside. Just cinnamon air and emotional damage. Served with the drink of the day: “Silent Treatment”—a black coffee with a single cube of sugar and no milk.
It’s fine. Everything’s fine.
By Friday, we’d graduated to “I Don’t Want Your Lava”—my take on molten chocolate cake.
Burnt around the edges, gooey in the middle, topped with powdered sugar and simmering resentment, and paired with “The Cold Brew Shoulder”, a cold brew with a hint of cayenne and a swirl of whipped vanilla cream.
Sweet. But spicy.
And today’s special?
“I(cing) Deserve Better.” A glitter-glazed cinnamon roll with a big, fat swirl of raspberry and sass. Served with the “Glow-Up Mocha”, a dark chocolate mocha with edible glitter, topped with whipped cream and self-respect.
When Amy came in for the order of the day, she read the chalkboard, smiled, and gave me a satisfied, “Atta girl.”
“Thanks,” I murmured, fiddling with a stray sprinkle on the counter. “I just… I don’t know why I let it get to me. It’s not like I know him. Not really. I just…”
Amy cut in gently. “Sometimes you just know when you meet someone. And sometimes that someone is a total idiot.”
She shrugged like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“Speaking of total idiots,” she added, grabbing the pastry box. “Wrecker’s coming over later to ask you out.”
I grinned. Wicked and wide.
“You’re going to say yes, aren’t you?” Amy asked knowingly.
“Most definitely.”
“Atta girl.”
She gave me a little wave as she walked out the door.
I could practically hear her announcing the name of the daily special to the guys as she passed it out.
Diesel
The garage was hot as hell and smelled like oil and frustration. I wiped the sweat from my brow, eyes narrowing at the stubborn bolt I’d been wrestling with for the last ten minutes.
Wrecker strolled in, whistling like he didn’t have a care in the damn world.
"You're off-key," I muttered, gritting my teeth as the socket finally gave.
He ignored me, naturally. “Nice day out. Good day for, I dunno… a little romance.”
I froze, just for a second.
Then, I kept working. “You hit your head again?”
“Nope.” He leaned against the tool chest, arms crossed, smirking like the shit-stirrer he was. “I’m just saying. Sun’s shining, birds are singing, Sadie’s looking real cute in that cherry-print dress this morning.”
He made an exaggerated sigh and batted his lashes like a Disney princess.
My jaw clenched.
“Should’ve seen her laugh when she gave Amy that ‘Icing Deserve Better’ thing.” Wrecker grinned. “Girl’s got bite. Wonder if she’ll bite me if I ask?”
My teeth ground together. “Is there a reason you’re here other than being a pain in my ass?”
“Oh sure.” He grabbed a rag and started wiping nonexistent grease off his already-clean hands. “Wanted to let you know I’m asking her out.”
The wrench slipped from my hand and hit the floor with a loud clang.
I straightened slowly. “What?”
He shrugged. “Figured I’d swing by around closing. Ask if she wants to grab a drink, maybe go dancing. Seems like she could use a good time.”
I stared at him. Hard. “She’s not your type.”
“She bakes. She’s pretty. She likes vintage stuff and glitter. What’s not to like?”
“She’s—”
I cut myself off. I didn’t know what the hell I was gonna say. Is she mine? She wasn’t. Is she not over me? I wasn’t even sure she’d ever been under me.
“Relax,” Wrecker said, voice going all singsong. “I’m just helping out a girl who deserves to smile. Unless… you’ve got a reason I shouldn’t?”
My fists curled.
He gave me a look, one that was irritatingly patient beneath the teasing. “That’s what I thought.”
He walked off, his shit-eating grin the last thing I saw before the garage door slammed shut behind him.
And I just stood there. Heart pounding. Hands shaking.
Knowing damn well I had a thousand reasons why he shouldn’t.
But none of them mattered if I never said a word.
I looked across the street then.
She was out front sweeping even though there was nothing to sweep. She kept it spotless.
Her movements were neat. Purposeful. Controlled.
A Sadie trying to stay busy was a Sadie trying not to feel.
I was moving before I decided to try. I needed to say…. Something.
“Hey,” she said when I crossed the street.
Polite. Distant.
Not angry. Not warm either. Just… gone in a way that gutted me.
I stopped a few feet away. Didn’t trust myself to get closer.
“Sadie, I—”
The rest got stuck in my throat.
She just stood there, one hand on the broom, waiting and not rescuing me with her usual sunshine or sass.
“I shouldn’t’ve let things get so… blurred.”
It wasn’t enough. But it was all I had.
She nodded once. “It’s fine.”
But it wasn’t.
“I miss hearing you hum,” I said, softer.
Her knuckles tightened on the broom handle. Her eyes finally met mine.
“Yeah, well… I miss feeling like maybe I wasn’t too much to want.”
She didn’t wait for a response.
Didn’t give me time to fix it.
She just turned, disappeared into the shop, and left me standing there, wrecked and wordless.